House passes bill bolstering landmark voting law

3 years ago 274

WASHINGTON – House Democrats passed authorities Tuesday that would fortify a landmark civilian rights-era voting instrumentality weakened by the Supreme Court implicit the past decade, a measurement enactment leaders tout arsenic advancement successful their quest to combat backmost against voting restrictions precocious successful Republican-led states.

The bill, which is portion of a broader Democratic effort to enact a sweeping overhaul of elections, was approved connected a 219-212 vote, with nary Republican support. Its transition was praised by President Joe Biden, who said it would support a “sacred right” and called connected the Senate to “send this important measure to my desk.”

But the measurement faces dim prospects successful that chamber, wherever Democrats bash not person capable votes to flooded absorption from Senate Republicans, who person rejected the measure arsenic “unnecessary” and a Democratic “power grab.”

That bottleneck puts Democrats close backmost wherever they started with a slim accidental of enacting immoderate voting authorities earlier the 2022 midterm elections, erstwhile immoderate successful the enactment fearfulness caller GOP laws volition marque it harder for galore Americans to vote.

But they inactive mean to try.

Speaking from the House floor, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it was imperative for Congress to counteract the Republican efforts, which she characterized arsenic “dangerous" and “anti-democratic.”

"Democracy is nether onslaught from what is the worst elector suppression run successful America since Jim Crow,” Pelosi said.

The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, named for the precocious Georgia congressman who made the contented a defining 1 of his career, would reconstruct voting rights protections that person been dismantled by the Supreme Court. Under the proposal, the Justice Department would again constabulary caller changes to voting laws successful states that person racked up a bid of “violations," drafting them into a mandatory reappraisal process known arsenic “preclearance.”

The signifier was archetypal enactment successful spot nether the Voting Rights Act of 1965. But it was struck down by a blimpish bulk connected the Supreme Court successful 2013, which ruled the look for determining which states needed their laws reviewed was outdated and unfairly punitive. The tribunal did, however, accidental that Congress could travel up with a caller formula, which is what the measure does.

A 2nd ruling from the tribunal successful July made it much hard to situation voting restrictions successful tribunal nether different conception of the law.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Terri Sewell, said “old battles person so go caller again,” enabled by the Supreme Court’s rulings.

“While literacy tests and canvass taxes nary longer exist, definite states and section jurisdictions person passed laws that are modern time barriers to voting,” said Sewell, an Alabama Democrat.

In galore cases, the caller measure wouldn't use to laws enacted successful the years since the court's 2013 ruling. That apt includes the question of caller Republican-backed restrictions inspired by Donald Trump's mendacious claims of a stolen 2020 election.

But if signed into instrumentality on with Democrats' different predetermination bill, the For the People Act, galore of those restrictions could beryllium neutralized — and apt prevented from getting approved again. Both laws would apt look ineligible challenges.

In the abbreviated term, the ballot Tuesday was expected to soothe restive Democratic activists who person been frustrated by inaction connected the contented successful the Senate.

NAACP President Derrick Johnson said helium was “encouraged” by the bill's passage. But helium besides offered a thinly veiled threat, pledging to ticker intimately arsenic the Senate takes it up and “keep way of each yea and each nay" vote.

“Make nary mistake, we volition beryllium there, connected the crushed successful 2022, successful each authorities that needs a caller Senator,” helium said successful a statement.

Democrats' slim 50-50 bulk successful the Senate means they deficiency the 60 votes needed to flooded a filibuster. For months, progressives person called for scrapping the filibuster, but a fig of mean Democrats reason the idea, denying the votes needed to bash so.

It's besides not wide that the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, arsenic written, would beryllium supported by each Democrats successful the Senate, wherever determination are nary votes to spare.

One proviso successful the measure would prohibition galore types of elector ID laws, including those already connected the books. That's astatine likelihood with a connection from West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who is the chamber's astir blimpish Democrat. He's spent weeks moving with Senate enactment to make a much narrowly focused alternate to the For the People Act, and has specifically called for a elector ID modular that would let for radical to usage a papers similar a inferior bill.

Republicans, meanwhile, blasted the timing of the measure, noting that Pelosi called Democrats backmost from August recess to walk the bill, arsenic good arsenic to instrumentality votes connected Democrats' spending priorities, erstwhile the U.S. is dealing with its chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

"If there’s immoderate infinitesimal successful clip to enactment an predetermination aside, if there’s immoderate infinitesimal of clip to enactment authorities speech I would person thought contiguous was this day,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

Conservatives besides criticized the measure arsenic a departure from the 1965 voting law, which utilized number turnout information arsenic good arsenic a place's past of enacting discriminatory voting laws erstwhile determining which places would beryllium taxable to preclearance.

The caller bill, instead, leans heavy connected looser standards, specified arsenic utilizing the fig of ineligible settlements and consent decrees issued successful voting rights cases, to propulsion places into preclearance.

That would, Republicans argue, play into the hands of Democrats, who person built a blase and well-funded ineligible effort to situation voting rules successful conservative-leaning states.

Rep. Michelle Fischbach, a Minnesota Republican, predicted it would beryllium a boon for Democratic advocacy groups and proceedings lawyers, who would “file arsenic galore objections arsenic imaginable to manufacture litigation.”

“It empowers the lawyer wide to bully states and question national support earlier making changes to their ain voting laws,” she said.

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